Trump's Justice Department on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the civil rights of transgender Americans are not protected in the workplace. (Photo: @civilrightsorg/Twitter)
Oct 28, 2018
Amo, Amas,
I love a lass,
As a cedar tall and slender,
Sweet cowslip's grace
Is her nominative case,
And she's of the feminine gender!
John O'Keefe, The Agreeable Surprise (1783)
Herewith a brief explanation of what the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) is trying to do insofar as transgender members of our country are concerned. The matter HHS is addressing is should a person's sex be irrevocably determined at birth, or should there be such a thing as federally recognized transgenderism, as is presently the case. Addressing this matter is different from what the Nazis did, but more about that later.
It is a not a surprise that transgenderism is being considered by an administration led by the lecher in the White House. Although sexual exploits by occupants of that building, whether before or after the move in date, is not unheard of, no president's sexual exploits have been as publicly displayed as those of its present occupant. More than 12 women have accused him of varying degrees of sexual harassment. His dispute-without-end with Stormy Daniels, demonstrates, if nothing else, the sexual pleasures he has enjoyed as a male. (Ms. Daniel's description of the sex defining object possessed by Mr. Trump as a "huge mushroom head-like a toadstool" does not change the fact that that the toadstool like appendage clearly defines his sexual identity and has provided him with, apparently, endless amusement.)
Whereas Donald Trump has no questions about his sexual identity, the issue is not as clear cut for some 1.4 million American citizens who have either surgically, or otherwise, assumed a sexual identity different from that with which they were born. The Trumpsters want to deprive those Americans of certain rights given them under, among other places, the Affordable Care Act. And given the character, or more specifically, the lack of character of their leader, it seems singularly appropriate that deciding on how to deal with other people's sexual identity would be something this administration would find worthy of examination.
HHS has issued a memorandum proposing to roll back civil rights that were given transgender people under the Affordable Care Act, by redefining sex as being either male or female and being firmly established at birth by the genitals with which the person is born, irrespective of what actions the person may take later in life, to either change the genitalia, or otherwise identify with a different sex from that with which the person was born.
Roger Severino, is the head of the HHS department's "Conscience and Religious Freedom Division." He has not spoken publicly about his role in drafting the proposal, but comments made by him in his former life may give a clue. In his former life he was the head of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. He has strong feelings about those who, through surgery or self-identification, assume a sexual identity different from that established biologically at birth. While serving at the DeVos Center, he described the Obama administration's broad definition of gender identity as "radical gender ideology."
The regulations proposed by HHS provide that gender should be uniformly defined throughout the government as being determined on a "biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable." That means, it says, that the child's sex is determined by the genitals possessed by a baby at birth. Whatever appears on the birth certificate "shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
Mr. Severino is, for obvious reasons, very pleased with this new definition of gender. He is so pleased that he wants all the governmental agencies that play a role in enforcing different parts of Title IX, to adopt the definition. In addition to HHS, Mr. Severino would like for the Departments of Education, Justice, and Labor to adopt the HHS language... As of this writing, only HHS is prepared to adopt the Severino language. Although Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education is reportedly considering making changes to the enforcement of Title IX by the Department of Education, she is reportedly not interested in the broader change proposed by Mr. Severino. She is concerned with changing the focus of educational institutions dealing with questions of sexual assault.
So much for the Trumpsters. On to the Nazis. The Nazis took a hard line when it came to dealing with transgender individuals. A report in Wikipedia says that: "Upon the rise of Adolf Hitler. . . gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of the numerous groups targeted by the Nazis and were ultimately among Holocaust victims. . . . Homosexuals within the party itself were murdered. . . . In late February 1933. . . the Nazi party launched its purge of homosexual . . . clubs in Berlin, outlawed sex publications and banned organized gay groups." All that took place in Nazi Germany.
Trump's vision for Amerika, is not like Hitler's vision for Nazi Germany--yet.
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Christopher Brauchli
Christopher Brauchli is a Common Dreams columnist and lawyer known nationally for his work. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Colorado School of Law where he served on the Board of Editors of the Rocky Mountain Law Review. For political commentary see his web page at humanraceandothersports.com.
Amo, Amas,
I love a lass,
As a cedar tall and slender,
Sweet cowslip's grace
Is her nominative case,
And she's of the feminine gender!
John O'Keefe, The Agreeable Surprise (1783)
Herewith a brief explanation of what the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) is trying to do insofar as transgender members of our country are concerned. The matter HHS is addressing is should a person's sex be irrevocably determined at birth, or should there be such a thing as federally recognized transgenderism, as is presently the case. Addressing this matter is different from what the Nazis did, but more about that later.
It is a not a surprise that transgenderism is being considered by an administration led by the lecher in the White House. Although sexual exploits by occupants of that building, whether before or after the move in date, is not unheard of, no president's sexual exploits have been as publicly displayed as those of its present occupant. More than 12 women have accused him of varying degrees of sexual harassment. His dispute-without-end with Stormy Daniels, demonstrates, if nothing else, the sexual pleasures he has enjoyed as a male. (Ms. Daniel's description of the sex defining object possessed by Mr. Trump as a "huge mushroom head-like a toadstool" does not change the fact that that the toadstool like appendage clearly defines his sexual identity and has provided him with, apparently, endless amusement.)
Whereas Donald Trump has no questions about his sexual identity, the issue is not as clear cut for some 1.4 million American citizens who have either surgically, or otherwise, assumed a sexual identity different from that with which they were born. The Trumpsters want to deprive those Americans of certain rights given them under, among other places, the Affordable Care Act. And given the character, or more specifically, the lack of character of their leader, it seems singularly appropriate that deciding on how to deal with other people's sexual identity would be something this administration would find worthy of examination.
HHS has issued a memorandum proposing to roll back civil rights that were given transgender people under the Affordable Care Act, by redefining sex as being either male or female and being firmly established at birth by the genitals with which the person is born, irrespective of what actions the person may take later in life, to either change the genitalia, or otherwise identify with a different sex from that with which the person was born.
Roger Severino, is the head of the HHS department's "Conscience and Religious Freedom Division." He has not spoken publicly about his role in drafting the proposal, but comments made by him in his former life may give a clue. In his former life he was the head of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. He has strong feelings about those who, through surgery or self-identification, assume a sexual identity different from that established biologically at birth. While serving at the DeVos Center, he described the Obama administration's broad definition of gender identity as "radical gender ideology."
The regulations proposed by HHS provide that gender should be uniformly defined throughout the government as being determined on a "biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable." That means, it says, that the child's sex is determined by the genitals possessed by a baby at birth. Whatever appears on the birth certificate "shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
Mr. Severino is, for obvious reasons, very pleased with this new definition of gender. He is so pleased that he wants all the governmental agencies that play a role in enforcing different parts of Title IX, to adopt the definition. In addition to HHS, Mr. Severino would like for the Departments of Education, Justice, and Labor to adopt the HHS language... As of this writing, only HHS is prepared to adopt the Severino language. Although Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education is reportedly considering making changes to the enforcement of Title IX by the Department of Education, she is reportedly not interested in the broader change proposed by Mr. Severino. She is concerned with changing the focus of educational institutions dealing with questions of sexual assault.
So much for the Trumpsters. On to the Nazis. The Nazis took a hard line when it came to dealing with transgender individuals. A report in Wikipedia says that: "Upon the rise of Adolf Hitler. . . gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of the numerous groups targeted by the Nazis and were ultimately among Holocaust victims. . . . Homosexuals within the party itself were murdered. . . . In late February 1933. . . the Nazi party launched its purge of homosexual . . . clubs in Berlin, outlawed sex publications and banned organized gay groups." All that took place in Nazi Germany.
Trump's vision for Amerika, is not like Hitler's vision for Nazi Germany--yet.
Christopher Brauchli
Christopher Brauchli is a Common Dreams columnist and lawyer known nationally for his work. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Colorado School of Law where he served on the Board of Editors of the Rocky Mountain Law Review. For political commentary see his web page at humanraceandothersports.com.
Amo, Amas,
I love a lass,
As a cedar tall and slender,
Sweet cowslip's grace
Is her nominative case,
And she's of the feminine gender!
John O'Keefe, The Agreeable Surprise (1783)
Herewith a brief explanation of what the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) is trying to do insofar as transgender members of our country are concerned. The matter HHS is addressing is should a person's sex be irrevocably determined at birth, or should there be such a thing as federally recognized transgenderism, as is presently the case. Addressing this matter is different from what the Nazis did, but more about that later.
It is a not a surprise that transgenderism is being considered by an administration led by the lecher in the White House. Although sexual exploits by occupants of that building, whether before or after the move in date, is not unheard of, no president's sexual exploits have been as publicly displayed as those of its present occupant. More than 12 women have accused him of varying degrees of sexual harassment. His dispute-without-end with Stormy Daniels, demonstrates, if nothing else, the sexual pleasures he has enjoyed as a male. (Ms. Daniel's description of the sex defining object possessed by Mr. Trump as a "huge mushroom head-like a toadstool" does not change the fact that that the toadstool like appendage clearly defines his sexual identity and has provided him with, apparently, endless amusement.)
Whereas Donald Trump has no questions about his sexual identity, the issue is not as clear cut for some 1.4 million American citizens who have either surgically, or otherwise, assumed a sexual identity different from that with which they were born. The Trumpsters want to deprive those Americans of certain rights given them under, among other places, the Affordable Care Act. And given the character, or more specifically, the lack of character of their leader, it seems singularly appropriate that deciding on how to deal with other people's sexual identity would be something this administration would find worthy of examination.
HHS has issued a memorandum proposing to roll back civil rights that were given transgender people under the Affordable Care Act, by redefining sex as being either male or female and being firmly established at birth by the genitals with which the person is born, irrespective of what actions the person may take later in life, to either change the genitalia, or otherwise identify with a different sex from that with which the person was born.
Roger Severino, is the head of the HHS department's "Conscience and Religious Freedom Division." He has not spoken publicly about his role in drafting the proposal, but comments made by him in his former life may give a clue. In his former life he was the head of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. He has strong feelings about those who, through surgery or self-identification, assume a sexual identity different from that established biologically at birth. While serving at the DeVos Center, he described the Obama administration's broad definition of gender identity as "radical gender ideology."
The regulations proposed by HHS provide that gender should be uniformly defined throughout the government as being determined on a "biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable." That means, it says, that the child's sex is determined by the genitals possessed by a baby at birth. Whatever appears on the birth certificate "shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
Mr. Severino is, for obvious reasons, very pleased with this new definition of gender. He is so pleased that he wants all the governmental agencies that play a role in enforcing different parts of Title IX, to adopt the definition. In addition to HHS, Mr. Severino would like for the Departments of Education, Justice, and Labor to adopt the HHS language... As of this writing, only HHS is prepared to adopt the Severino language. Although Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education is reportedly considering making changes to the enforcement of Title IX by the Department of Education, she is reportedly not interested in the broader change proposed by Mr. Severino. She is concerned with changing the focus of educational institutions dealing with questions of sexual assault.
So much for the Trumpsters. On to the Nazis. The Nazis took a hard line when it came to dealing with transgender individuals. A report in Wikipedia says that: "Upon the rise of Adolf Hitler. . . gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of the numerous groups targeted by the Nazis and were ultimately among Holocaust victims. . . . Homosexuals within the party itself were murdered. . . . In late February 1933. . . the Nazi party launched its purge of homosexual . . . clubs in Berlin, outlawed sex publications and banned organized gay groups." All that took place in Nazi Germany.
Trump's vision for Amerika, is not like Hitler's vision for Nazi Germany--yet.
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